Latest market data

Stock search

If life had gone according to his original plan, Scott Jordan,
founder and CEO of Ketchum, Idaho-based Scottevest, would be a highly successful
internet legal executive. Instead, he's an internet apparel
executive. The change in direction occurred in 2000, when
Jordan, wearing headphones while rushing through an airport,
got his cable snagged on a doorknob. "It practically pulled my
ear out," he recalls. "I said, wow, there has got to be a way
to design clothing that incorporates the wires."

As vice president and general counsel for a startup, Jordan was a
frequent flier who carried a lot of gear: a PalmPilot, flip
phone, data cable, hydrogen fuel cells for extra battery power, a
fairly large 1.3 megapixel camera and, of course, that CD player.
"That was my typical load," Jordan says, "and my keys."

He had no background in apparel or design. Nor did he have a
desire to form a clothing company. His plan was to license the
concept of pocket-packed wired clothing to other firms. But first
he would have to reinvent the pocket to create clothing with what
he calls a "personal area network" of hidden pouches connected by
channels for cords and wiring. Ultimately he secured
a patent on his
means of incorporating wires into clothing, allowing for the
potential to license the technology to third-party manufacturers.

Jordan created Scottevest's first product, the eVest 1.0, with 15
pockets, as proof of the concept. But after leaving his job at
the startup, he needed to make some money, so he decided to sell
the vest online for $159. (It now sells for $125.)

Soon after launch, the vest got coverage in Parade
magazine, spurring a surge in sales. By the end of its first year
in business, Scottevest had sales of a couple hundred thousand
dollars.

Early on, Jordan knew there was a risk that tech innovation might
eventually kill his business--who needs multiple pockets for
devices when a single smartphone can do everything? "Convergence
hasn't taken place. If anything, quite the opposite," Jordan
points out. He adds that in addition to a smartphone,
many people carry a mix of tablets, wired headsets, external
batteries and other gadgets.

Indeed, Scottevest has recorded steady revenue growth, between 20
and 40 percent year over year, and Jordan expected to finish 2013
with sales of $10 million. The 18-person company produces and
sells 50 pocket-loaded products, including boxer
shorts, hats, pants, button-down shirts and jackets. (The
surprisingly handsome Expedition Jacket features a whopping 37
pockets.) Some 85 percent of sales are through the Scottevest
website.

The women's line, which originally bombed--it wasn't attractive,
Jordan says--now makes up about 35 percent of total sales, thanks
to a late-2010 overhaul by his wife, Laura, who serves as company
president.

Sales have no doubt been helped by significant media attention.
There have been stunt promotions, such as sending a travel writer
on a six-week trip around the world without luggage. And there
have been very public spats with Delta Sky
Magazine--which rejected an ad touting Scottevest as a way
to "avoid extra baggage fees"--and Mark Cuban, with whom Jordan
sparred on Twitter after spurning an offer from the Shark
Tank investors when he appeared in a 2012 episode of the
show. There was also a trademark dispute with ski outfitter Scott
USA and a battle with IBM over logo similarities.

Ever the lawyer, Jordan and his startup have refused to back away
from any fight. "Am I a lightning rod for controversy?

Absolutely," he says. "I am not bothered by it. All publicity is
good publicity, and when you are a small consumer brand, trying
to get the word out and not advertising ... it levels the playing
field."

These days Jordan has left controversy behind in favor of
pursuing licensing opportunities in earnest. This year, he says,
the company plans to announce several collaborations with outside
designers. But when pressed for details, Jordan is
uncharacteristically silent.

This time, it would seem, he's playing his cards close to his
multi-pocketed vest.